Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
[00:00:05] Speaker B: Chuck Allen here. And today I want to talk about Room to Grow on the weekday podcast. Thanks for jumping on board with me. I'm really glad you're here. You know, Jenny and I, we. We lease this raised bed garden in our hometown here in Norcross. And we plant some junk in there, tomatoes and, you know, all kind of things. I'm horrible at it. But we got in the golf cart and rode over there the other day. We took a look at it.
Not a single healthy plant in the garden had reached some predetermined size and just stopped. Growth is literally built into the DNA of the plants and friends. I believe the same is true for us as followers of Jesus today. Let's walk into this responsibility as Christians to continually learn and grow. Because when we become terminally certain, when we think we've got it all figured out, we leave very little room for the hugeness and wonder of God.
So in second Peter 3:18, we're given this beautiful instruction. It says, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Notice it doesn't say grow until you reach spiritual maturity and then just coast.
Notice it doesn't say grow until your kids are out of school and then coast or grow until you feel like you've done enough.
I love how the new living puts it this way. In Proverbs 4:18, it says, the path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.
That's our journey. Constantly growing and becoming brighter, constantly learning more, constantly expanding our understanding. When we stop growing, something dangerous happens. We begin to shrink God down to fit our own limits of our understanding. We create a God who conveniently agrees with all of our current opinions and perspectives. And, well, then we're stuck. And we think we know everything.
Think about it. The disciples walked and talked with Jesus. They ate at the same campfire and hung out non stop. They saw the miracles firsthand, but they were constantly surprised by even they had to continue to grow.
If the dudes who broke bread with Jesus himself needed to keep growing in their understanding, doggone it, how much more should we now, to be super clear here, I'm not talking about changing the core truths of our faith. The gospel remains the Gospel. And the Bible needs no help from me or you. Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. But hear me. Our understanding of that unchanging truth should continually deepen. Our application of it should continually mature. Our wonder at the immensity of God's grace should continually expand.
In Ephesians 3 Paul puts it this way.
May boy, I just love this. He says that. That we. That we should have power together with all the Lord's holy people to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ Jesus, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of all, the fullness of God. Did you catch that? Paul prays that we would know something that surpasses knowledge. That's because our journey with God always takes us beyond the boundaries of what we can fully comprehend. There's always more depth, more richness, and more wonderful to discover. I. I had a fella that's come into my Life recently who's 88, just one of the most wonderful guys I've ever met. And I. I asked him the other day, I said, hey, man, what is the Lord teaching you in your quiet time? Without missing a beat, he jumped straight to a piece of passage in Isaiah and he said, I thought I knew what that meant, but I was only seeing part of it. Doggone it, I want to be like that. And I think Jesus calls all of us to be like that. Because the opposite of growth isn't stability. It's stagnation. And stagnant water becomes toxic when we stop growing. Our faith becomes rigid, judgmental, and ultimately it becomes lifeless. You know, I just want to encourage you. There's a beautiful paradox in the Christian life. The more we grow, the more we realize how much we don't know. And that's not a failure. It's precisely where I think the Lord God wants us, in that space of humble dependence where we encounter the true hugeness, wonder, and glory of God.
So let me leave you with this challenge today. What's one area where you've become a little too certain?
Where might God be inviting you to expand your understanding? Take that question into your day and see what happens when you create a little more room for growth. So until the next time, this is Pastor Chuck Allen reminding you that there's always more to discover in this journey with Jesus.
Go in peace, y' all. And thanks so much for joining me on the weekday podcast.
[00:05:00] Speaker C: Thanks so much for joining us on today's weekday podcast. Please click the Share button and give a few other folks a cup of encouragement.
Chuck and Bobby will be back again tomorrow with another word of scripture and a thought to help you know God and discover his purpose for life. Until then, go in peace.
